Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Purchased by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 265.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,432 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 85,297 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $22,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.0%

LGND opened at $248.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $110.00 and a 1-year high of $257.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total value of $207,870.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,816,680.91. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.50, for a total transaction of $352,012.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,786 shares in the company, valued at $9,339,171. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 18,968 shares of company stock valued at $4,163,441 in the last ninety days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.